CHAT NUMBER: 1,252

FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Bait only good if fish bite on same.”

THIS WEEK: We share “Charlie Chan in Honolulu,” featuring the first adventure with Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan and Victor Sen Yung as Number Two Son, Jimmy.

OUR CHAT ROOM: Go to our “Chat Room” page, and, at the bottom of that page, click on the “Charlie Chan Family Chat Room ENTRANCE” link. You may then enter as a “Guest,” choosing the name you wish to use.

OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION: “Charlie Chan in Honolulu” (1939; 68 minutes) Yes, this film IS available online for those who lack a personal copy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yuw_JOus6ac

FEATURE SUMMARY: A murder is committed on the passenger freighter ‘Susan B Jennings’, as it reaches Honolulu. After a circuitous route to the docked ship, Charlie Chan learns that the murdered man’s identity is a mystery and that secretary Judy Hayes is the only eyewitness to the fatal shooting. The rest of the freighter’s passengers include animal keeper Al Hogan, Mrs. Carol Wayne, psychiatrist Dr. Cardigan, criminal Johnny McCoy, and police detective Joe Arnold, who is taking McCoy back to the U.S. from Shanghai. Another person is murdered and $300,000 has gone missing.

FEATURE NOTES: This film was the first in which Sidney Toler appeared as Charlie Chan. According to a ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, associate producer John Stone had chosen Toler to be the successor to Warner Oland, who had played Chan from 1931 until his death in 1938, after seeing him play a Chinese character in the Paramount film “King of Chinatown.” Toler was the thirty-fifth actor tested for the role, with ‘Hollywood Reporter’ noting that others considered for the role included Leo Carrillo, Cy Kendall, and J. Edward Blomberg who appeared in “Charlie Chan on Broadway” (1937). Toler continued to play Chan until his death in 1947. This was also the first film in which Victor Sen Yung played Jimmy Chan. Yung had replaced Keye Luke, who had portrayed Lee Chan in earlier entries in the series. Luke left the series after Oland’s death, when he and Twentieth Century-Fox disagreed on his new contract. According to ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news items, the search for Luke’s replacement was “frantic,” and led to casting director James Ryan seeking applicants among the Los Angeles university students and Chinatown residents. The ‘New York Times’ had speculated that “Charlie Chan in Honolulu” would cost $300,000 to produce and that Toler would receive $15,000 per Chan film. Many reviewers applauded Toler’s and Yung’s performances and noted that followers of the series would be satisfied with the new actors. The ‘Motion Picture Herald’ review remarked on the novelty of a Chan film being previewed at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and stated that the December 16, 1938 showing was very well received by the “top-ranking executives, the most sought after reviewers and commentators and invited guests” who attended. According to a ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, Richard Lane was originally signed to play the “romantic lead” opposite Phyllis Brooks. A tribute to Warner Oland appears in the film “Mr. Moto’s Last Warning,” starring Peter Lorre. During that picture’s production in August 1938, the cast and crew learned of Oland’s passing in his native Sweden while on the final leg of a tour of Europe. Oland was set to resume his role as Charlie Chan upon his return in a film that was to have been “Charlie Chan in Honolulu.” In one scene during a quick passing shot over the title “Charlie Chan in Honolulu,” starring Warner Oland, on the bill of the Sultana Theatre of Variety, they placed the banner “Last Day.”

THIS WEEK’S EXTRAS: Our weekly “extras” are offered to provide enhanced background information for our featured film, hopefully enriching our viewers’ appreciation of each film’s place in actual history, culture, and context.

EXTRA #1: 10 Things You Should Know About Richard Lane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKKeFKBfWMQ

Running time: 2:08

EXTRA #2: Freddie Blassie, Count Billy Varga Interviews Olympic Auditorium 3/28/62 (Dick Lane)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E6PGqtp5LM

Running time: 4:34

EXTRA #3: Whatever Happened to Victor Sen Yung - Hop Sing from TV's Bonanza?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgiE1JZU01E

Running time: 5:31

OUR MESSAGE BOARD: Please consider visiting our Message Board. Feel free to add a message to a post or begin a conversation…or state a thought! Our Message Board has been there for YOU since 2004!

AS ALWAYS, WE BEGIN OUR EVENING at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute block of time for arrivals and greetings, and the sharing of an extra…or two...or even three! (please see above). Then, at precisely 8:15 ET, we begin running our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!

AT OUR BULLETIN BOARD: THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY HOME 2023 NEWSLETTER is available for your enjoyment at our “Bulletin Board” and “Study” (under the “Charlie Chan” category) at our Charlie Chan Family Home!

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NEXT WEEK: “The New Adventures of Charlie Chan,” Starring J. Carroll Naish as Charlie Chan in “Charlie’s Highland Fling” and “The Patient in Room 21.”

SO… Please join us as we join together this week to share “Charlie Chan in Honolulu.”

Sincerely,
Rush Glick